Want: Music. Not want: CD. Want: Support local music stores. How?

Buy the CD, rip it, and then give it to a friend?

Independent music stores in my area are big into (1) records and the sale of record players, (2) the sale of tickets to musical events in the area, and (3) the sale of material produced by local artists. Any of those things appeal to you? Other than those things? Well, http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/4311604/aimee-mann-files-huge-copyright-lawsuit-over-digital depending, of course, on how you see things.

Most of them sell tickets for live performances. If you're going to go to a show, buy your ticket there.

If you purchase one copy of something (a CD), then turn it into two copies, and sell one, then you are in fact doing something illegal (and unethical) -- if you hadn't created a new copy of the item, then the artist might have sold an additional copy (you could have purchased a second copy to give as a gift; the person who buys your used CD might have purchased a non-duplicated CD, etc.). You're suposed to delete all digital copies if you sell/give away the CD. It's interesting that people are confused about this now. Please read up on it if you are still confused -- I know my explanation above is lacking in clarity.

This is why I bought a record player. I don't buy very many albums, but it's a nice option to have. New albums usually come with a digital download, so I have both the physical album and also it's in iTunes as well. Old albums obviously don't, but except for a few specific situations I mostly buy older albums for a couple bucks just for the experience/novelty factor. (The "few specific situations" are mostly covered by collecting specific eras of Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones records.) I spent about $150 on a player. I own under 100 albums, and anytime the numbers start to creep up, I get rid of a few, usually by donating them to a thrift store.

Can you buy CDs or records to give as gifts? I do a lot of Christmas shopping at a local music store.

Tip. Don't ask, just put $5 somewhere - in a jar, in someone's hand. Just an idea, I haven't tried it. I do wish stores like this, and some cafés, provided a way to give them money for their non-retail-markup services.

I understand wanting to support your local music store. Such stores have been and continue to be important to me, and I like to encourage their existence and their contribution to the ambience of the local community. I buy most of my music from the local music store, even though I could get it cheaper online in almost every instance. I suppose that I could buy the CD, rip it, and sell it back used, but somehow this feels like I'm cheating someone as well. Why don't you buy the CD, rip it, then recycle the case, inlay and disc? That way, you're getting the music, you're supporting the store you bought it from, and you're not cheating anyone.

I support local music stores by buying records, which often come with digital download codes, as has been mentioned. It's also really fun to browse the record stores in other towns when visiting. That said, I'd be lying like crazy if I said the internet hasn't supplanted a lot of my "go to the local music store and see if they have the new _x_" urges. I often order LPs from the internet, directly from the labels. I typically just go to the record stores when I want to be surprised by an album I forgot about but just have to own, etc. If you don't want physical items at all, yes - why aren't you previewing music online? Some sites, such as bandcamp.com, will let you listen to full albums before buying. iTunes only gives you 30 second samples but if you are going the iTunes route, I bet rollingstone/spin/pitchfork/npr will offer the album for streaming (for a time) if it's any sort of highish-profile release.